Hobby robots

[Zette]

Does anyone here build robots as a hobby?  What are the best sites to get started with robot arms?

When I decided at age 12 to go into software, the two things I wanted to do were to make video games (of course!) and build robots.  In my professional life I never got to do either one.  I took a decade off to be home with my kids, and just spent a year in a "returnship" that involved educational video games.  I'm tempted to try something with robots now.  I have this fantasy of building a robot that empties the dishwasher. Most of my experience is as an embedded software engineer, so I think the software side of it will come naturally, the mechanical side not so much. 

Can anyone point me to good online classes or recommend hobby kits?

[scottish]

My master's degree was in robotics/control theory.   That was a long time ago ('91).    But I've always been fascinated by robotics, just never had a job where I could work on it.

Now I have a growing interest in drone applications as a retirement project.    A company called DJI makes a light industrial platform for a couple of thousand dollars with APIs that look promising.   This may be more expensive than what you had in mind though...

I bet you'd have lots of fun building a controller that could manipulate glasses with a sufficiently firm grip to control the glass without breaking it.   I don't know of any manipulator kits with force sensors, etc. , but I'm interested to see if anyone else does!

[HipGnosis]

See if there is a Maker Faire or Makerspace near you.

[Just Joe]

https://learn.adafruit.com

https://www.wikihow.com/wikiHowTo?search=robotics

https://www.robotshop.com/community/forum/

[Kroaler]

A robot to empty the dishwasher?   How much you looking to spend? Lol.

Gonna need some vision .  Probably no need for force feedback, just set the cylinder to a pressure than won't shatter dishes with a high grip material on the inside of the gripper.

How's your s/o going to feel about a 6 foot robot in your kitchen (you wanna reach the cabinets right?). 

And if we get the vision working, let's go ahead and make it pick from the sink and place in the dishwasher also.

If you have a interest in robotics, there's lots of demmand right now.

[scottish]

Gonna need some vision .  Probably no need for force feedback, just set the cylinder to a pressure than won't shatter dishes with a high grip material on the inside of the gripper.

Nitpicking, but that's a form of force sensor, the manipulator stops when the force reaches a limit.

I saw a good video of this a while ago.   if I find it again I'll post it.

[mschaus]

See if there is a Maker Faire or Makerspace near you.

Yup, a makerspace, also called a hackerspace will be a great resource. Plus you can use shared tools and keep your junk there!

Some directories:
https://wiki.hackerspaces.org/List_of_Hacker_Spaces
https://makerspaces.make.co/

And the whole Make Magazine community is awesome. Have fun!

[katsiki]

PTF

[Kroaler]

PTF

So I while back someone taught me you can follow without posting =D.

I think its the "notify" button?